U.S. Hotel Industry Commits to Giving Panic Buttons to Workers
Photo Credit: Marriott housekeepers with employee safety devices, or panic buttons. Marriott, along with Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, and Wyndham, is committing to giving panic buttons to its U.S.-based hotel workers by 2020. Marriott International
Skift Take
Implementation of panic buttons, or employee safety devices, for hotel employees is a good start, but it should just be the beginning of the much broader measures the entire global hospitality industry should take to ensure the safety of every single person who walks through its doors.
An unprecedented gathering of major U.S. hotel leaders on Thursday announced a new industry-wide pledge to enforce stronger safety and security measures for their hotel employees.
Called the 5-Star Promise, five hotel brands have promised to provide their U.S.-based hotel employees with safety devices, also commonly referred to as panic buttons, as well as to enhance their respective policies, trainings, and resources for hotel safety, especially as they relate to sexual harassment and assault.
The panic buttons can range from those worn as necklaces to those on a key fob.
The announcement was made at a press conference by the chief executive officers from Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott, and Wyndham as well as by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) in Washington, D.C.
Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta told Skift that "safety and security has never been an area that we compromise on," but he noted that in the last year especially there
